Reports

“I Just Try to Make It Home Safe”

Violence and the Human Rights of Transgender People in the United States

The 65-page report, “‘I Just Try to Make It Home Safe’ Violence and the Human Rights of Transgender People in the United States,” documents how persistent marginalization puts transgender people, particularly Black transgender women, at heightened risk of violence at the hands of strangers, partners, family members, and law enforcement.

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  • “The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered Down”

    LGBT Bullying and Exclusion in Japanese Schools

    This report examines the shortcomings in Japanese government policies that expose LGBT students to bullying and inhibit access to information and self-expression.

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    manga drawing by Taiji Utagawa of a transgender man with head down in the dark with three white spots leading into the distance

  • “Do You See How Much I’m Suffering Here?”

    Abuse against Transgender Women in US Immigration Detention

    This report documents 28 cases of transgender women who were held in US immigration detention between 2011 and 2015. More than half of the transgender women Human Rights Watch interviewed were held in men’s facilities at some point.

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  • The Issue is Violence

    Attacks on LGBT People on Kenya's Coast

    This 70-page report is based on research conducted in 2014 and 2015 by Human Rights Watch and PEMA Kenya, a community organization in Mombasa that provides support to gender and sexual minorities on human rights, health, HIV/AIDS, and economic well-being.

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  • “That’s When I Realized I Was Nobody”

    A Climate of Fear for LGBT People in Kazakhstan

    This 31-page report documents pervasive homophobic attitudes, hateful treatment, and failure of police and other government agencies to protect LGBT people in Kazakhstan.

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  • License to Harm

    Violence and Harassment against LGBT People and Activists in Russia

    This 85-page report is based on dozens of detailed interviews with LGBT people and activists in 16 cities across Russia who experienced attacks or aggressive harassment because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

  • Not Safe at Home

    Violence and Discrimination against LGBT People in Jamaica

    This 86-page report documents 56 cases of violence in which victims reported they were targeted because of their actual or perceived sexual identity. Human Rights Watch found that police investigations are often inadequate or lacking altogether, in some cases due to homophobia within the police force.

  • "They Said We Deserved This"

    Police Violence Against Gay and Bisexual Men in Kyrgyzstan

    This 65-page report found that gay and bisexual men have been subjected to a range of abuses at the hands of police in Kyrgyzstan, including physical, sexual, and psychological violence; arbitrary detention; and extortion under the threat of violence or of exposing victims’ sexual orientation to friends and family.

  • "It's Part of the Job"

    Ill-treatment and Torture of Vulnerable Groups in Lebanese Police Stations

    This 66-page report focuses on torture and ill-treatment by the Internal Security Forces (ISF), particularly the Drug Repression Bureau and members of the ISF who enforce “morality-related” laws against drug users, sex workers, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

  • “Treat Us Like Human Beings”

    Discrimination against Sex Workers, Sexual and Gender Minorities, and People Who Use Drugs in Tanzania

    This 98-page report documents abuses including torture, rape, assault, arbitrary arrest, and extortion. The organizations found that the fear of abuse is driving sex workers, people who use drugs, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people away from prevention and treatment services.

  • Guilty by Association

    Human Rights Violations in the Enforcement of Cameroon’s Anti-Homosexuality Law

    The 55-page report presents 10 case studies of arrests and prosecutions under article 347 bis of Cameroon’s penal code, which punishes “sexual relations between persons of the same sex” with up to five years in prison. The report found that most people charged with homosexuality are convicted based on little or no evidence.

  • Curtailing Criticism

    Intimidation and Obstruction of Civil Society in Uganda

    This 50-page report documents increasing government attacks on organizations whose focus includes oil revenue transparency, land acquisition compensation, legal and governance reform, and protection of human rights, particularly the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

  • Sex Workers at Risk

    Condoms as Evidence of Prostitution in Four US Cities

    This 112-page report documented in each city how police and prosecutors use condoms to support prostitution charges.

  • “They Hunt Us Down for Fun”

    Discrimination and Police Violence Against Transgender Women in Kuwait

    This 63-page report documents the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and persecution that transgender women – individuals who are born male, but identify as female – have faced at the hands of police.